


so rest your head (you're all mine)

by astralseas



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Christmas, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, and also a slight mention of niall, but zayn and liam kinda just dont exist oops, small amount of smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-25
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-03-08 22:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3226514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralseas/pseuds/astralseas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis and Harry, best friends for years, are on a road trip back home for Christmas. The car breaks down, things happen, and they start to uncover their true feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	so rest your head (you're all mine)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fatigue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatigue/gifts).



> i just wanted to give a big thinks to my best friend [Liz](http://ofbostuns.tumblr.com) and everyone else who helped me with the process of this fic. if i ever became unmotivated or discouraged i could always come to any of you so thank you for that!
> 
> also wanted to add that i made a playlist to go with the piece! check it out [here](http://8tracks.com/sammm97/so-rest-your-head-you-re-all-mine) and enjoy! :)

It's two days before the 25th of December and Louis is woken up by Harry's knocking at his dorm door.

“Louis are you up yet we need to get going”, he groans loudly as he gets out of bed to swing open his door and find Harry fully dressed and showered, ready to start the day. He wonders how he hasn't been able to pick up any of Harry's good habits even though he's known him for about 10 damn years. He begins thinking about how his mother always wished he would “act more like Harry” and “be as neat and tidy as Harry” but is brought back to reality through the waving of Harry's large hand in front of his face.

“Louis? Hello?”

“Uh yeah hi morning.", Louis mumbles as he walks into the hall and makes his way to the bathroom with a much too talkative Harry following behind.

“I hope you've packed everything already. We need to get on the road by 11:30 so we can make it home on Christmas no later than 2PM. And you know how both our mums get when we're late."

He continues going on and on about the plans he has set for the drive back home while Louis brushes his teeth. When he spits the minty substance into the sink he attempts to get Harry to relax for a minute so he can get his still half asleep mind together.

“Harry slow down and relax for one second please. I can assure you that even if we leave a little late we can still make it home in time.”

“Jeez sorry for wanting to have everything planned out ahead of time. Now hurry up and get dressed."

Louis rolls his eyes at Harry before stripping from his clothing and jumping into the shower to cleanse the sleep out of his system and prepare him for the long trip ahead. 

When he gets back to his room, he finds Harry stretched out on Louis's bed watching the morning news.

“Such a tight schedule we're on aren't we?”, he mocks Harry while disposing of his dirty clothes in the hamper. 

“I've already packed all my things and i'm ready to go unlike you.”, he says while glancing at Louis's half packed suitcase.

“Big deal that'll take me a whole 5 minutes to finish."

“Fine. I'm gonna go get all my bags together so we can leave once you’re finished. Be packed and ready by the time I get back.", he points to Louis and narrows his eyes while walking out of the room. 

**********************************************************************************************************************

After they've gathered all of their baggage, they head out of the building to start the walk to the almost empty parking lot. The air feels icy and sharp as it hits Louis' face so he turns his head away from the wind to create any warmth possible. Harry's a few steps ahead holding his arms close to his chest with his bags slung over his broad shoulders, curls riding the winter winds. Louis doesn't know why he's so surprised by the weather when it's nearly Christmas. Possibly because these past few months have gone by so fast he hasn't even paid attention to the weather changing. Until now at least, with mostly all the students gone and barely anyone around, he starts to notice little details more than he did before. He watches the large, crisp snowflakes falling in front of his face and the way he can see Harry's breath as he talks. Oh yeah Harry is talking. By the sound of it, it's suspected that hes trying to hint his way into the subject of Louis' birthday being tomorrow as if he's completely forgot. 

“So? Are you excited for tomorrow?”, the amount of peppiness in his voice makes Louis giggle. 

“No idea what tomorrow is, mind sharing?"

“Oh come on Lou I know you know what i’m talking about.”, he gives up when Louis just looks at him with a horribly fake look of confusion.

“You're birthday! The day you turn 23 years old? Ring a bell?”

“Hmm yeah that is tomorrow isn't it? Funny I almost forgot about that.”

“Yeah yeah stop playing, Louis. Is there any place you wanna stop or anything special you wanna do? I mean I already got your present of course but we can still do something fun!”

“Come on, Harry. I thought we agreed on no presents. I don't want anything, really.”

“I know we did but I just love that look you get on your face when you open one of my presents.”

“Well maybe if you didn't get such great presents I wouldn't get 'that look'.”

He watches Harry turn around, walking backwards as they approach Louis's car.  
“I can't just stop getting such great presents, Louis. Now unlock this thing so I can get our stuff in the trunk.”

Louis unlocks his old beaten car for the lanky boy and then walks up to beside him so that he can put his own bags in. Once they've gotten their baggage situated they walk to either side of the car.

“Ready?”, Harry asks with a bright smile on his face.

“I am if you are.", answers Louis with a returning smile.

They then get in and Louis attempts to start the car. It takes a few tries but he finally gets it running. He pulls out of the Boston University car lot onto the side street where there's barely any cars around and drives up to the first intersection.

“Damnit.”, he sighs loudly to show his aggravation. 

“Oh, Louis. Did you forget to fill up again?”

Yes of course he forgot to get a full tank of gas before they head out on a road trip. Just another one of Louis's bad habits.

“Yeah but its alright. There's a gas station on the corner. We can just fill up there and then get going.”

Louis pulls up to the gas station and gives Harry the money to run in and pay with.

“Want anything while i'm in there? Might be a while till we reach another station.”

“Nah not really. But if you see something you think we'll need you should probably just grab it now.”

Harry nods his head in agreement. “Right. I’ll be back.”, he then trots off to the door.

Inside the tiny building it's warm and feels nice compared to the harsh winds just outside the thin glass doors. He pays for the gas at the counter and starts scoping the few aisles for any necessities. He ends up grabbing a few bags of chips and some drinks including a water for himself, an iced tea for Louis, and a coffee for each of them. He figured since it's early they might need a little caffeine to keep them bright. He also grabs a charming little word search book for himself knowing he'll get bored sooner or later. Once he cashes out, he braces himself for the coldness of this December morning and jogs to the car. He hands the coffees to Louis to set in the cup holder between the two of them and gets in with the rest of the items in the bag placed on his lap. Louis notices the iced tea in the bag and bends over to grab it.

“I believe this is for me.”, he announces as he removes the cap and takes a sip.

“Well it is now anyways. And also I bought this delightful low quality coffee for us to enjoy.”, Harry says with a much too wide to be genuine smile. “Oh and a water and a word search booklet for myself.”

Louis spots the chips and his face lifts. 

"Oooo Doritos. Perfect for breakfast."

Harry laughs at Louis thinking chips are some sort of breakfast food. "So, _now_ are we ready?”

“I believe so.”, he takes a sip of the coffee before putting the car into drive and leaving the gas station behind them. 

***************************************************************************************************

“Jingle bells, Louis smells from thousands of miles away!”

They've only driven about 2 out of the 16 hours it takes to get to Daxford from Boston and Harry's already finding new ways of entertainment. It took a little over 15 minutes for him to get tired of the word search booklet, as expected from Louis, so he turned on the radio to find the Christmas station and hasn't stopped 'singing' since.

“Really Harry? Of all insults you're gonna go with that. I hope you know how disappointed I am. I thought I'd taught you better but”, he shakes his head as a shamed father would, “it seems that you have failed my lessons.”

“What are you _talking_ about that was hilarious!"

Louis cocks his head to the side looking at Harry and chuckles.

“Hey check the map for me and make sure we're going the right way.”

He struggles for a while trying to get the map in his hands correctly facing him and then informs Louis that they'll have to keep straight for multiple miles ahead. The drive is mainly just highways and a few side streets so it's not as scenic as they'd like it to be.

“Man I am starving. Are we gonna stop soon and get something to eat or what?”

It's a complaint that Louis was expecting to hear sooner or later but he can't disagree with Harry. He puts his hand over his stomach and hears the growly noise it makes, telling him food is needed down there.

“Yeah you're probably right. We'll take the next exit into town and find a place.”

The first exit sign they see that tells them there's restaurants coming up is the one they take. They drive the road down into what leads to a single stop light town. It's a small street lined with few stores that are actually open. They see a diner coming up on the left and pull into the parking lot where there seems to be every semi truck in the country.

“Well this looks like a nice little place.”, Harry says with a large optimistic smile on his face.

“If that's what you wanna call it.” 

Louis clearly doesn't agree with Harry's opinion but can you blame him? The paint on the building which used to be a deep blue has now faded to a dull light blue and the sign has maybe three quarters of the letters on it so that instead of it saying 'Jenny's Stop 'n' Go Diner” it says “Jnny's top 'n Go Dier”. But he supposes it'll do for now.

Harry reaches the door in time to open it for Louis. The bell above the door rings and the once loud room has gone quiet. Here in the middle of some small Connecticut town is Louis and Harry from Boston who don't fit into this lumberjack looking men filled diner at all.

“Well alright then.” Louis says lightly to more himself than Harry or anyone near enough to hear. He walks over to an open booth in the back corner of the diner with everyone's eyes following and Harry directly behind him like a scared puppy. 

A woman who looks aged to be about 23 or so comes over to the two boys. The talking starts to get back to normal. She has her light brown curly hair up in a high pony tail and is wearing a bright red apron tied around her waist. 

“Don't worry about those guys” she says referring to the truckers as she sets their menus down in front of them, “they're just a little bit exclusive. So what can I do you for?”

“Oh we're just stopping in to get a quick bite to eat before we get back on the road.”, Louis answers as his eyes glide across the menu. 

“Going home for Christmas i'm guessing?”, she seems to be very interested in everything the boys have to say with the big smile on her face.

“Yes we are! Long ride back to Indiana it is.” Harry answers this time.

“Oh yeah that is a tiring drive. Oops i'm sorry, talking too much. What can I get for you two to drink while you look over the menu?”

Harry looks up at Louis for confirmation before saying, "We're ready to order now if you don't mind.", and then smiling with all his teeth. They decide on getting breakfast even though it’s 2PM cause all they've eaten today is snacks and coffee. 

“I'll take a coffee, black and half order of pancakes.” Louis's order of course.

“I'll also take a coffee but with two sugars, one cream and then a full order of waffles but could you add some whipped cream on top please.” Harry asks smiling like a young boy. 

“Comin' right up!” She turns and walks back to the counter to get the drinks.

“She seems nice.", Louis comments as he checks out the diner. 

“Yeah she does."

She brings two waters and two coffees out and sets them in the correct spots not long after. 

Waiting for their meals, Louis becomes bored after a few minutes. He flicks a small crumb from the table at Harry which hits his nose and yells "Score 1 for Tomlinson, 0 for Styles!"

Harry gasps as it hits him but then quickly plots his revenge. He balls up the straw wrapper and flicks it towards Louis hitting him right in the middle of his forehead. 

"Still 0 for Styles?"

"We'll call it a tie, how bout that?"

"A tie?!? I hit you perfectly in the center of your forehead and all you got was a nose hit. And that's equal? I quit.", Harry acts upset throwing down his napkin onto the table and crossing his arms. A few seconds later they both erupt in laughter causing a few head turns from the older men but they keep laughing anyway. 

She brings their orders a few minutes later and they devour their food like starved wolves in a matter of minutes. 

“We should probably get going.” Harry says while pointing to his watch.

“Yeah you’re right.” 

Louis waves over their waitress and asks for her to bring the bill. They put the cash on the table, leaving a generous tip and head for the door. 

“Thanks for the food. You were lovely!”, Harry compliments the waitress who is now behind the counter. 

“Awh you’re so sweet. Have a nice ride home, boys. And merry christmas!”

“Thanks you too!”, they both respond as they smile and walk out the door towards the car.

“So?”, Harry waits for an answer.

“So...what?”

“It wasn't as bad as you thought and I was right. Admit it.”

“Okay true. It was a gem. And those pancakes were some of the best i've tasted.”

“True but now I feel like my stomachs gonna explode. I should've gotten a half order but those waffles, man they were good.”

“Harry, this is why i'm the smart one. I ordered a half order and feel like I can go the rest of the day without eating. I don't know how you did it.”

“So now you’re the smart one just cause of restaurant meal choices? Do you really want me to bring up how you failed-”

“Hush up about that I can retake it next semester. And don't you dare bring it up around my mom when we get home.”

“Fine I guess that's only fair considering all the times you've saved my ass. But I will say now that if Jay asks me I'm gonna have to tell her. There's no way I can ever lie to that woman. I mean have you looked into her eyes! It makes you feel transparent. Besides, shes gonna have to find out sooner or later.”

“Well I know that. I just wanna keep the holidays jolly and all. I'll tell her before we leave. I promise.”

“Good. Ready to go?”

He nods, starts the car, and pulls away onto the freeway. Harry turns the radio back onto his favorite Christmas station and begins to sing. This is going to be, Louis thinks, a very long ride.

*****************************************************************************************************

It didn’t take long until Louis started to sing along to the music with Harry. As much as he hates to admit it, he loves singing. Especially with Harry even if it's in a jokingly way. The way their voices form together is quite, beautiful, Louis thinks. Harry stops his singing and lowers the volume on the radio.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to sing. You know like make music. Sometimes I wish I would've gone down that path instead of the one i'm on now. It’s not like I regret going to college for teaching I just wish I could've done both maybe.”

Louis is a bit surprised at this random vent from Harry. “Harry, how come you’ve never told me that? I mean I know you love your music but you never really mentioned anything about that to me. How come you didn't go for it?”

“I didn't think i’d make it to be completely honest. I thought about trying out for The X Factor but couldn't go through with it. I guess you can say I'm scared of rejection.”

“What? Harry you’re completely insane. I mean have you _heard_ yourself sing? Like ever? Cause that's the kind of voice that could take over the world. You can still try you know. Like go through with The X Factor and all. You're still young and they'd love you. There’s no way they could turn you down.”

“Louis that means so much to me. I’m so happy you think that way. But I really just couldn't. I’m already halfway through college. There’s no point.”

“I don't know, Harry. I think you’re worth it. I _know_ you’ll get far. Besides what does trying out hurt? You’ve got nothing to lose. I say go for it. _Chase your dreams_ and such no matter how cliche it is.”

“You know what? You’re right. I never do anything for myself, for my own happiness. I’m gonna do it, Louis. Thanks for supporting me.”

“Of course, Harry. I love you a lot, you know. I’ll always be around to annoy you _and_ support you. Sounds like a pretty good combo to me.”

He takes one hand off the wheel and covers Harry's left with it to make sure he catches the meaning in his words. 

"Man am I glad to have you. And you know I'm here for you for anything."

Louis chuckles, knowing this already. “Well I sure hope so. We’ve _only_ been friends for about 10 years or so.”

“Good god has it really been that long.”, Harry looks at the ground with an astonished face.

“Yes it has. And I don't know about you but i've loved every second of it.”, he says this while pinching Harry’s cheek like the classic grandma would.

“Oh don’t worry i've enjoyed it completely. Especially that time while we were still in elementary and we went sledding down the hill on Rogers Street and we crashed into the Horan brothers and I got two of my teeth knocked out.”

“Ah yes how could I forget that. Funniest thing ever, ya know. Well after you stopped bleeding and crying and all. But hey at least they were gonna fall out soon anyway.”

“Doesn't mean it didn't hurt. Or what about that time sophomore year when we permanently got banned from all football games because you felt the need to curse out the refs from the bleachers.”

“Hey don’t even start with me on that one i'm still pissed about those refs calls. Total shit I tell you.”

“You already have told me that. You told everyone, Louis.”, Harry laughs remembering Louis standing on the bleachers screaming profanities and what not at them while Harry was swayed by Louis's feet hiding his face and trying to get him to calm down. 

“Well I couldn't just let him get away with it!” he sighs, letting go of the memory and pulling up a different one. “How come all these memories are negative, Harry huh? We have plenty of good ones. Like when I threw you that big surprise birthday party for your 18th! Wasn’t that sweet of your old pal, Louis?”

“Okay that was pretty nice. Fun night that was.”

“Exactly! And remember when Dusty passed? You cried like a little baby and who was there to bring you ice cream and cuddle you through it. That’s right it was me! I may act like an ass at times but I do care, Harry.”

“Yeah I know you care, Lou. I of all people know under all that sarcasm there's a soft and warm soul.”

Louis kind of just turns to Harry and smiles, then nods his head and turns his sight back to the road. He thinks of how grateful he is to have Harry always around. He’s the only one that understand him entirely. Yeah there’s his mom but it’s just not the same. She hasn't been right by him through everything like Harry has. He hopes Harry feels the same way about having Louis in his life. So few people who come into his life stay around long but through them all, Harry is always there.

“Do you mind if I take a nap? Didn’t get much sleep last night, Rudy was up all night playing on his Xbox again.”

“Yeah sure I don't mind. Might as well rest up as much as you can. You know the girls will wear you out so you better get prepared.”

“You sure you won't get bored? I mean i could just sleep later-”

“Harry it's fine.”, he smiles at him, "It really is I swear.”

“Well if you say so.”

He reaches in the back seat and grabs the knitted blanket to wrap himself in. They remembered to bring a few of those knowing Louis’s car isn't always the warmest. The heat and a/c only work about half of the time so you kinda have to take chances with it.

Once he’s adjusted his seat and his own body’s position, he closes his eyes waiting for darkness to surround him. 

Louis can’t help but stare at Harry. His eyelids look soft and delicate, same as the way his dark curls are. Tints of gold show in his hair as the shine of the sun comes through the window. His thin pink lips are creased into a straight line and Louis can’t help but wonder what they’d feel like against his own. His daydreaming is interrupted by Harry’s lazy voice in his ears.

“Whadya lookin’ at?”

He feels embarrassed as if he's been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. “Huh? Oh nothing, Haz.”, he smiles hesitantly and pats harry’s thigh. “Go back to sleep.”

Harry keeps his eyes held on Louis for a few seconds, trying to figure him out but then gives up and closes his eyes once again.

So far they’ve been on the road for a total of 5 hours but that still leaves 11 hours to split between today and tomorrow. It could be worse, Louis thinks. They could’ve been stuck with having to drag Rudy along with them for half of the drive since they were his only hope when his ride almost didn't pull through. But at least they didn't have to deal with that. 

The silence of the car makes him uneasy as his mind begins to cloud up with too many unwanted thoughts. Louis turns on the radio but keeps it at a low level to make sure Harry doesn’t wake. 

******************************************************************************************************

When Harry wakes up 2 hours later it’s from the sound of Louis attempting to shut his door quietly. He sits up in his seat and looks around out of the windows. He sees Louis at the back of the car filling up the gas tank and looks at the clock to check the time. It’s nearly 8 o clock already and it’s completely dark outside. Louis sticks the gas pump into the car and quickly gets back in, escaping the cold. 

“Well look who’s finally awake.”

“Where are we?”, he mumbles the words.

“Passed into Pennsylvania while you were sleeping. Kind of just been following the map since then. I’ve been waiting till you woke up but do you wanna find a place to get some dinner? It’s been a few too many hours since I ate something other than Doritos.”

“Yeah let’s go. I am one hungry guy."

“Okay let me finish getting the gas.”

He hops out of the car and finishes the job as fast as possible. They leave the deserted gas station onto an eerie two-way road that they hope will lead them into town. They drive 15 minutes and reach an area with too many lights and loud streets. Louis pulls into a street lined with multiple restaurants to choose from.

“Chinese or Coney?”, Louis asks as if he really needs an answer.

“Coney.”, they choose at the same time creating laughter between them.

He parks in the closest spot to the Coney Island building and they jog to the door, Harry reaching it first and opening it for Louis. Once they’re seated with their menus, they tell the waiter their orders off the top of their head, the menu being memorized by them many times before.

“Oh one more thing.”, Louis calls over the waiter. “Could I get some coffee please?”

“Yeah sure decaf or regular?”

“Definitely not decaf.”, he laughs with the waiter who then leaves to put in their meals.

“Hey, Lou guess what.”, Harry says this with a much too wide grin. 

"What?"

"Less than 4 hours till you're 23rd birthday.", he's nearly bouncing out of his seat.

“Just another day of driving, Haz. But at least i'll have you.”, Louis wanted to be home by tomorrow so that he could spend some of his birthday with the girls and his mom but he’s completely fine with spending the day with Harry. Other than his family, there really isn’t anyone else he’d rather spend his ‘big day’ with to be honest.

“Just another day of driving?!? How could you say that! It’s your birthday, Louis!”

“Well yeah I get that, Harry but what i’m saying is that it’s nothing _that_ great.”

“Nothing great, huh? We’ll see about that.”

“Oh come on, Harry. I said no surprises.”

“It’s nothing crazy big I swear. I just couldn't help myself. You know how I am with birthdays. But anyways, what are the plans for tonight after this?”

The waiter walks up to their booth, food in hand, and places the plates down in front of the two.

“Enjoy your meals.”, flashing a bright smile before gradually walking away.

“Thank you!”

“I’m thinking we’ll drive about an hour or so more if I don’t pass out and then find a motel for the night.”

“Sounds good to me. And so does this food.”, Harry looks at his plate as if he’s been struck my one of cupid’s love arrows and begins to indulge. Louis, eventually does the same once he’s stopped staring at Harry while he eats.

Finished with their meals, they pay the check and head for the car. It’s cold in Pennsylvania, almost as cold as it is back home, but Harry can’t help but miss it. It’s nice being away from home for a while. Living on campus gives you that bit of independence and a feeling of freedom, but the good always comes with the bad. He misses Daxford, the way it makes you feel at home, safe. He misses the Christmas lights twinkling on nearly every house through his neighborhood. He misses the summers spent by the lake with Louis. He misses so much about it, he nearly feels homesick. _We’ll be there soon enough_ , he thinks. 

They begin their drive out of town and follow the map, pointing them home. The radio is on but this time neither of them sing, Louis exhausted from the day and Harry’s mind full of thoughts. It’s getting colder outside with every minute that passes and the car’s ‘heat’ isn’t even close to keeping them warm. This only urges Louis to drive faster, hoping he can cover more miles and get into a warm bed as soon as possible.

“I say we drive for about 45 more minutes then pull into the nearest town and find a motel.”

“I agree. I dont care how much coffee you’ve had, you obviously need some sleep before tomorrow, Lou.”

“You are very correct, Styles.”

In the midst of their conversation, the car begins to slow its speed. Confused, Louis keeps pushing down on the gas pedal thinking it’s just being itself but soon enough there’s smoke coming from under the hood. 

“Woah woah, Louis pull over.”

“Please no oh god please don’t do this to me.”, he speaks to the car as he steers onto the shoulder of the rode. Louis gets out of the car slamming his door and steps in front of the hood lifting it up only to have a cloud of grey smoke float out. 

“Damnit.”, he looks up to the night sky and flails his arms up, “Why me?!?”

When he gets back inside the now useless car, Harry’s waiting for the news.

“Doesn’t look good. Probably gonna need a tow truck.”

He notices the stress in Louis’s face and decides to stay calm hoping it’ll relax him a bit even though right now Harry’s nearly just as upset as Louis is.

He places his hand on Louis’s tensed shoulder and feels him relax. Louis looks up from his lap at Harry, “It’s fine, Lou. We’ll call a tow truck to come and it’ll be okay.”

Louis sighs heavily but eventually pulls out his phone and searches up his roadside help company only to be put on hold immediately.

“You’re kidding me, right?”, he says to the phone. “Now what are we supposed to do? We’re miles from the closest sign of anything living and the damn heater doesn’t even work. I knew I should’ve gotten that new car when I had the chance. Look where we are now cause of me. Harry, i’m sorry for all of this, I really am.”

“Stop it, Louis. None of this is your fault. I don’t want to hear you blame it on yourself. All we can do is wait for them to answer. We’ll just have to sleep here tonight. We’ll use the blankets we brought and it’ll be fine. Now stop worrying. Everything will be fine, we’ll make it home in time and it’ll all be okay. I promise.”

“God why are you so good to me, Harry?”

“Because that’s what i'm here for. Now help me find the blankets we brought so we can finally sleep.”

“Agh okay okay.”

When they finally get situated they separate the amount of blankets equally among themselves and get as comfortable as they can in the backseat of the car. 

“Goodnight, Louis.”

“Night, Haz.”

But Harry can’t sleep when he feels the shivering of Louis’s ice cold body on his legs.

“Come ‘ere.”

And so Louis crawls over, blankets and all, into Harry’s arms and lays down. The heat from Harry’s body warms him immensely. Harry smells like a mixture of cinnamon and pine trees and Louis wishes he could stay in his comfort forever. He’s reminded of the times when he’d have the recurring nightmares and retreat to Harry’s dorm for a feeling of safety because that’s what he gets when he’s curled in his long arms, Louis’s face against Harry’s chest. Before letting the overwhelming need to sleep consume him, he thinks of his mother and his sisters and how much he can’t wait to get home and see all the smiles on their faces, the love in their eyes. 

“I just wanna get home.”

As much as Harry agrees with him, all he can think is “ _You are home, Louis._ ”

They fall asleep to a combination of the wind and the hold music coming through Louis’s phone.

******************************************************************************************************

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Louis jumps up from his sleep from hearing the woman’s voice. 

“Yes hi i’m here.”, he speaks in a rushed tone almost forgetting Harry asleep right by him.

“Is there anything we can help you with?”

“Yeah uh my car’s engine blew or something could you send out a tow truck please?”

Harry sleepily reaches for the small body that was recently beside him keeping him warm.

“No problem. What’s your location?”

“I- um I actually don’t quite know for sure. Hold on a moment please.”

He climbs into the front seat and finds the map they’d been using and finds his last check mark and estimates where they are at the moment so he could tell the operator.

“Okay we’re sending one out right now. Should be there in a half hour or so.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Have a nice day, sir. And happy holidays!”

“Yes same to you! Goodbye.”

He sets down his phone and turns around to a semi open eyed Harry with a large smile on his face. Louis already knows what's about to happen.

“Harry not now.”

Yet he goes on anyways. “Haaaappy birthday!”

“Thanks, Haz. The tow truck should be here-”

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you”

Harry leaps up and starts singing the entire song in the happiest tone ever heard. He wraps his arms around Louis’s body and pulls him to the back seat, sitting him down. Louis laughs at his foolishness but deeply admires the voice of the boy and the dimples shown when he smiles. At the end of the song, Harry reaches under the seat and pulls out a small silver box wrapped in gold ribbon and a bow on top.

“Harry, you really didn’t have to get me anything. You’ve done so much for me I don’t need any presents to prove your friendship.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, Louis just open it.”

With a heavy sigh, Louis opens the box only to find another smaller box inside. He opens it to find the exact watch he’s been wishing to buy for months but knew he should save his money for something more important like a car or such.

“Jesus, Harry a simple gift card or something would suffice.”

He giggles but insists on Louis proceeding with the present.

“Put it on, Lou.”

Louis wraps the piece around his small wrist and clicks the buckle into place. It glistens in the sunlight as he twists and turns his wrist slowly, admiring it.

“It’s perfect”, he looks up at the smiling boy. “Thank you, Harry. I love it.”

He suddenly pulls Harry into a tight hug. Harry doesn’t seem to mind and simply wraps his arms around the back of Louis, resting his chin on Louis’s shoulder. They stay like that for a while.

Soon enough, the tow truck shows up and they get out of the car to greet the man.

“Good afternoon, sir.”

“Mornin’, boys. I'm gonna hook up your car here to my truck in about a minute. Need a ride into town? ‘Bout 6 miles west of here.”

“Yeah that would be great. Thanks.”

They stand away on the other side of the road, watching the man do his daily job and then they’re waved over to get in the truck.

It’s a tight fit but it works. Harry in the middle, Louis closest to the door. Their thighs squish side by side and Louis smirks a little at the way Harry places his hand on Louis’s thigh. The ride is quiet and doesn’t take longer than 10 minutes or so. When they get there it’s a smaller, more relaxed town than the city they had previously been in the night before. He drops them and the car off at the repair shop and Louis talks to the worker at the front desk for a while before returning to Harry, sitting in the small lobby of the shop.

“Should be a couple of hours. Anything you wanna do while we’re here?”

“Louis it’s _your_ birthday. Is there anything _you_ wanna do?”

“Drink. I’d like to get a drink. Let’s go.”

Harry stands up and follows Louis out the doors, obeying his demands. They walk down the small downtown area and find a pub across the street. At least Louis’s getting something he wants today. Well other than the amazing watch Harry got him.

They walk into the pub, mostly empty considering it’s only about 1PM or so, and sit down next to each other on the stools in front of the bar. The bartender is an older man, probably in his early 50s or so. He has a thick grey mustache and his name tag says Jerry. He’s wiping the counter off with a rag when they sit down.

“How can I help you boys?”

“Uh i’ll take a scotch on the rocks please.”

“And for you?”, he points to Harry with his head.

“Nah i’m good. Just water will be fine.”, Harry says although he couldn’t get a drink even if he wanted to.

Jerry sets down the glass of scotch in front of Louis and he drinks it in large sips.

“You just wait till you turn 21, Haz. I’m gonna take you out for a good night of drinking, yes I am.”

A couple drinks later, Louis being the lightweight he is, is laughing hysterically to some story about pranking his roommate, Derek. Yeah Harry thinks it’s funny too and laughs along but Louis just can’t control his laughter. Jerry doesn’t seem to mind, probably used to this kind of behavior from his customers. 

“Louis?”, Harry tries getting his attention the best he can. “Louis i’m gonna go to the bathroom and then we’ll be leaving okay?”

He waves him off and continues on his third drink, talking about the prank still with Jerry. Harry wanders down a short hallway and pushes the door open to the men’s restroom. Once he’s finished his business, he washes his hands and dries them. But as he reaches for the door, someone pushes through at the same time. It’s Louis only it’s not. He has a devilish smirk on his face and he’s walking towards Harry.

“Uh hey, Lou. Ready to go-”

Before he can finish his sentence Louis has him pushed up against the wall with their lips connected. Harry’s mind panics before realizing how _right_ this feels. He begins to kiss back then raises his hands to put them on Louis’s back, then hair, face, soon everywhere until Louis grabs hold of both of them and pins them to the wall. He kisses from the corner of Harry’s mouth to his jawline and then down onto his neck. His soft lips and warm breath make Harry writhe under his grasp and leaves his mouth open in awe. When Louis breaks the contact of his lips to Harry’s skin they’re breathing heavy and he can see the lust in Louis’s dark blue eyes.

Louis overlaps their lips once more before kneeling down in front of Harry.

“Lou-”

“Shut up, Harry.”, he’s a bit taken aback by his words,”It’s my birthday and we can do whatever I want, right?”

He fumbles over his words from the sight of Louis’s hands on the buckle of his belt. “R-right.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”, then quickly he unbuckles his belt and jeans pulling them down in a fluid motion. 

Louis begins palming Harry through his thin boxers and Harry feels like he should do something. Tell Louis to stop or push him away. But then he’s naked of his boxers, Louis having pulled them down along with his jeans, and his boner is free of the tight clothing. Louis begins to lick the tip slowly in circling motions, making Harry short of breath and begging Louis to get on with it. He drags his tongue up and down the sides of his cock before covering the top with his plump, pink lips and sucking lightly. When he begins to take all he can in and starts bobbing up and down, Harry’s eyes nearly roll into the back of his head from the pleasure and amazement. His moans echo throughout the empty bathroom and he prays no one walks in on them. Louis wraps his hand around the rest of Harry’s cock and begins pumping up and down. Harry looks down at Louis as he looks up, winking at Harry with his hollowing cheeks. He runs his fingers through Louis’s soft brown hair and can hear Louis make some kind of a purr like sound. Louis takes his balls and rolls them, making Harry’s cock twitch and spill in Louis’s mouth yet he continues sucking, turning Harry’s mind fuzzy. Louis swallows around him and Harry arches his back off the wall. Once Harry’s finished riding out his orgasm, Louis simply stands up smiling, wipes his mouth on his sleeve, and walks out of the bathroom with a pleased look. Harry continues to stand there, still in shock of what just happened. He pulls up his bottoms and buckles his belt. He walks over to the sink, splashes cold water onto his face and dries it before standing in front of the mirror collecting himself which is currently a puddle on the floor. 

When he’s finally able to think straight, he walks out of the bathroom and back to the bar to find Louis sitting, drinking another glass of scotch. 

“Come on, Louis we’re leaving.”, he says as he walks up to Jerry and pays the tab.

“Oh Harry just one more drink, pleeaaasse.”

He gives Louis a stern look and Louis gives in.

“See you later, Jerry.”, Louis says to the man before leaving the counter and following Harry.

“Bye, boys.”  
They cross the road to the auto shop, Louis talking loudly about the weather and such beside him. When they get inside Harry guides Louis to a chair and tells him to “Stay here while I get the car.” and although Louis yells “Why?!?” and demands to know the answer, Harry pulls around front, then collects Louis from inside.

They drive a few blocks down the street before Harry remembers something.

“I’m guessing you’re hungry.”

“Sure am.”

He pulls over into the gas station and leaves Louis in the car, hoping he’ll be fine alone for a few minutes. He decides on getting some more snacks for the road, some pre made subs for now, and a few more bottles of water, mostly for Louis. When he checks out and leaves the quick mart, he finds Louis has rolled down all the windows, turned up the radio all the way, and is doing a horrible job of singing Katy Perry’s “Roar”. He jogs over to the car and gets in, turning down the radio and putting all the windows up.

“Here.”, he says handing a sub and a bottle of water to Louis. “Eat this sub and drink this. The whole thing. The sooner you sober up, the better.”

“Do you really think i’m drunk. I’m just happy! So happy, Harry!”

“Sure, Louis now eat your food.”

He follows all of Harry’s orders while he drives with one hand and eats his sub with the other.  
“I’m tired, Harry. Can I take a nap?”

“Yeah we’ll be driving for a while anyways.”

He reaches around back for a blanket and curls up into it.

“Goodnight, Harry.”

“Sleep tight, Lou.”

********************************************************************************************************

It’s been god knows how long since Louis fell asleep and Harry hasn’t stopped pondering the bathroom incident since. He has so many questions floating around his head but he has no idea how he’s gonna ask Louis about what happened. It looks like he’s gonna need to figure something out soon because Louis seems to be waking up. His eyes are still closed but Harry hears him sigh.  
“Lou?”

“Hmmm my head feels like it’s been split in two.”, he goes on about how he shouldn’t have drank so much and such while finding the Aspirin and taking two pills but he’s interrupted by Harry.

“Louis.”, he says in a soft yet serious voice which gets his attention. He turns and looks at Harry who’s just pulled the car over onto the shoulder of the road to make the eye contact he needs to make with Louis without crashing. When he sees Harry’s face and combines it with the way he’s acting, he knows what’s up. Everything from earlier comes back to him and his eyes widen.

“Oh god. Harry...oh my god. I-I’m sorry I just.”, he hides under his blanket. “I really don’t know what to say. I’m sorry, Haz like really sorry.”

“Louis,” Harry giggles at how embarrassed he is and pulls the blanket off of his head. “it’s okay. I’m just a little confused right now. Could you possibly help me get some things straight?”

“Er sure I could try.”

“Okay well first things first.”, he says it slowly, nervous of what’s to come. “Louis, do you have feelings for me? Like more than just as a best friend.”

He figures there’s no reason to bead around the bush or hide anything from Harry any longer. He needs to just say the damn words already. He’s been waiting for this moment to come for years and now he’s finally got the chance to do it. He’s not gonna let it slip away. He’s not holding anything back anymore. _Here we go_ , he thinks.

“Well Harry, yeah. I do. I really really do. I’ve loved you for as long as we’ve known each other but I _fell in love_ with you when I was eighteen to be completely honest. Nearly everyone in my life has came and left like i’m some meaningless pet. But you, Harry you’ve stayed right here next to me through literally everything and I love you endlessly for that. At this point I don't care whether you feel the same way about me or not because I can’t keep hiding this, I can’t keep pretending and convincing myself that i’m not in love with you like i have been for the past 4 years. I can’t-”

Harry grips the back of Louis’s neck and pulls him in, lips crashing like the waves of tears spent crying over hopeless loves. The car finally feels warm, not cold and empty like it used to. Louis’s heartbeat grows more erratic as they continue than it was when he was talking but in a good way. He feels free now, a burden lifted off his shoulders. When Harry breaks away it’s slow and he kisses Louis’s lips shortly once more. 

Harry holds Louis’s small face in his hands and with tears in his eyes and a raspy, shaky voice says, “I _love you_ , Louis Tomlinson.”

And that’s all Louis needs to hear to feel okay. That’s all he needs to hear to feel secure. That’s all he needs to hear to know he is loved. To know Harry’s love is here and real.

“I know, Harry.”

****************************************************

When all their emotions have settled down, Harry suggests the obvious. 

“Wanna start looking for a motel around here? I don’t know about you but I’d like to sleep in a warm bed tonight.”

“I hear ya. Let’s start heading that way then.”

Harry pulls the car out onto the road again and drives about 5 minutes until they roll into a city called Fort Lawrence. He spots a small grocery store and tells Louis to wait in the car while he runs in. When he returns, they spot a small motel near the highway entrance in which Harry parks the car and Louis gets a room. 

The cheap motel isn’t as bad as you’d expect it to be but it also isn’t very spectacular. The walls are colored a rusty green color with floral border around the top. The bed is stiff but its better than what they had the night before.

It’s a quarter past 10 when they get settled into their room and they’re both tired but Harry has one last surprise before the day is over. Before Louis can stop him, Harry takes the bag of what he got at the grocery store and goes into the bathroom with it, locking the door behind him.  
“Come on, Harry what are you up to?”

“Chill, Lou gimme a sec. And go sit on the bed and close your eyes.”

“You just love surprises don’t you, Styles.”, he says while lazily walking over to the bed and sitting down.

“I sure do. You ready?”

“Yep.”

Harry quietly comes out of the bathroom and walks to the edge of the bed, directly in front of where Louis is sat. 

“Okay, Lou you can open your eyes now.”

He does so only to see Harry in front of him holding a plate with a jumbo sized cupcake on it. The cupcake has two candles in the shapes of the number 2 and they’re lit up like Harry’s excited face.

“Harryyy.”, Louis says dragging it on. “You are so cute jesus christ.”

He complains to him, yet it isn’t much of a complaint, before pulling Harry’s long body on top of his on the bed. Harry sets the plate down on the bed, unable to resist Louis’s affections. They soon realize leaving the lit candles unattended wasn’t a very good idea when the bed sheets set aflame, making them jump from the bed.

Harry panics, starts walking in fast paced circles not being able to think of anything to do that would help. 

“Louis!! Get water do something! I don’t know what to do the whole place is gonna burn down-”

In the time Harry spends having a heart attack, Louis has already went to the bathroom and retrieved a cup of water to put out the small fire.

“Harry, it’s fine. It wasn’t even that big.”, he can’t help but crack up at Harry. “You should’ve seen yourself oh man that was hilarious. 

Harry just stands in the middle of the room with his arms crossed pouting.

“Okay geez, sorry it was funny.”

He gives up the pouting and walks up to Louis, wrapping his arms around the shorter boy’s waist.

“Yeah it probably was.”, he half grins down at Louis.

“So how bout that cupcake?”

“Ah yes the cupcake.”

They change into a more comfortable set of clothes and get into the bed together, cupcake cut in two on the plate set on the table beside the bed. Harry picks it up and places it between the two of them and they eat the dessert with disposable forks. 

“I think my favorite holiday is Christmas.”, Harry states out of the blue.

“And why’s that?”

“I don't know everything’s just really peaceful and happy. And spending it with family is one of the best parts.”, he smiles down at the plate thinking about past holidays spent with his sister, mother, and Louis’s family whom he considers family also. They spend every Christmas together at Louis’s house with his mom, step dad, and sisters. Every other year or so, his grandparents travel up from Florida to celebrate the holidays with them. Harry loves the atmosphere throughout the whole day. Just being around people who you love and who love you back brings him so much happiness. He knows Louis is just as excited to get home as he is.

“I agree actually. Christmas at the Tomlinson house has always been great hasn't it?”

“Since I can remember yes.”

They finish the cupcake and Harry sets the plate aside and turns the lamp off.

It’s natural for them to curl into the big spoon, little spoon position (Harry being the little spoon), but tonight it feels different than usual. There’s a sense of reassurance for both of them, knowing their love is shared. Harry loves this feeling and wonders if he would’ve ever been able to express his feelings toward Louis like Louis did today. Thank god one of them was brave enough.

“Louis?”

“Yeah, Haz?”

“I’m really glad today happened.”

It’s quiet for a moment as Louis smiles behind Harry in the darkness.

“Me too. Thanks for the best birthday ever.", he says softly, then kisses Harry’s temple. 

He eventually falls asleep with his hands in Harry’s hair, dreaming of pretty things like fields of flowers and the clear blue sky; almost as beautiful as Harry’s smile.

****************************************************************************************************

The sun is shining brightly through the thin motel window curtains and after trying to retreat back to his sleep, Louis realizes it’s probably about time he wakes up so they can get home within the next few hours. With eyes still closed, he reaches out for Harry but finds an empty space and blinks his eyes open. In place of Harry’s body is a piece of paper with his scribbly writing on it.

_Good morning Lou,_

_You probably just woke up and have started to wonder where I am but don’t worry. I ran out really quick to get us some breakfast down the street. I’ll be back soon. Merry Christmas by the way._

_\- Harry xoxo_

Louis chuckles at Harry’s use of “xo”s and then gets out of bed to get ready for the day. He puts on a nice pair of pants and his favorite ‘ugly sweater’ to fit today’s theme. He freshens up in the bathroom and watches the few channels that are provided on the much-too-old TV until Harry gets back with waffles for himself, pancakes for Louis, and some bottled orange juice. He greets him as he walks in with a hug and a short kiss and wishes him a Merry Christmas. 

They eat their breakfast on the bed together and then pack up the few things they brought from the car to the room. Louis checks out as Harry gets the car started and they drive away, hand in hand.

When they leave the motel it’s about 9 am which leaves them 4 hours to drive through the rest of Ohio, enter Indiana, and get to Daxford by 1PM. Louis is back in the driver’s seat and Harry’s jotting down thoughts and whatever else in his journal. He spends a while doing so until Louis starts conversation. They talk about things like traveling out of the country for once and about stuff that happened in high school that are so irrelevant to them now but were so important back then. A conversation starts about Louis’s father but ends quickly on account of Louis changing the subject. Harry knew he shouldn’t of brought it up in the first place but he’s always searching for answers behind Louis’s constant nightmares that he comes to him so often about. He’s heard the jist of what happened. Jay was engaged when she became pregnant with Louis. His father wanted nothing to do with him and walked out. But there has to be something more than that, hopefully someday Harry will find the real reasons.

Time in the car flew by so fast when they were talking, they barely noticed when they crossed over into Indiana. Only about a half hour until they reach Daxford now. Being so close, Harry called Anne, already at the Tomlinson’s house with Jay and the rest, to update them on where they were. Louis admired from his seat as Harry’s face brightened when he heard everyone’s voices, especially his mom and sister’s.

Once they reached Daxford, both of their spirits were higher than they were before. As they pass the places of their childhood, they felt incredibly nostalgic along with Louis feeling a bit old even though he turned as young as twenty-three just yesterday.

They pull up into Louis’s driveway to be greeted by their family as they got out of the car. Louis was immediately covered in his sisters yelling and jumping and asking millions of questions. Once they settled down, he walked into his mom’s open arms and remembered what it feels like to have your mother close, and boy was it a great feeling.

Harry steps out of the car and walks up to his older sister, Gemma, and mother, Anne with tear brimmed eyes. They fall into a three way hug for a while speaking soft words to each other.

Once Louis and Harry switch spots of greeting, they all head inside realizing how cold it truly is outside but not before Louis reaches his arms to the sky and screams “Merry Christmas!” for the whole town to hear. Harry laughs at his childishness and intertwines their hands as they walk towards the front door behind everyone else. Louis stops and looks down at their hands before looking up into Harry’s wondrous green eyes, a world of magic behind them. He pushes up on the tip of his toes to attach his lips to Harry’s. The snow is falling slowly around them in large pieces and Louis can feel the wetness of them in Harry’s hair. He feels warm from Harry’s hands splayed on his back, holding them close together. It’s sweet and simple but it’s enough to make Louis smile and blush while looking down at the ground afterwards. The rest of the family is inside already so they make their way to the door, Harry’s arm loosely around Louis’s waist while his head is resting on Harry’s shoulder.

When they step inside, no one seems to notice the intimacy between them except for Anne who simply winks and smiles towards the both of them as they stand together. 

“Louis Louis Louis! Look at the all of the presents Santa left under the tree last night!”, he looks down at Phoebe, one of his younger sisters. Then takes a look at the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. It’s overfilled with wrapped presents which means his mom hasn’t allowed them to open any yet as usual. 

“Wow he sure went all out this year didn’t he.”, he says while looking at Jay.

“Mom can we please open the presents _now?!?_ Please please please!”, Phoebe and Daisy, the twins, begin to beg his mom for permission even though they know we always open presents after dinner. She eventually sighs and gives in.

“Okay okay. But just one each, girls. We’ll open the rest later.”

They cheer and then thank her with hugs and kisses from both of them and Louis watches smiling. He’s missed this so much. He’s missed them so much. Lottie and Fizzy sit quietly on the couch both on their phones, no surprise to Louis. The twins each pick one of the many gifts under the tree and unwrap them quickly. Their eyes blow up at the sight of the dolls they asked for in their hands and open them as fast as possible.

Louis and Harry eventually have a seat on one of the couches next to Lottie and Fizzy. They all talk for a while about many different things. Louis leans on Lottie’s shoulder and jokingly picks on her, asking who she’s talking to and if it’s someone she’s got a crush on but she pushes him away which only encourages him more. He pretends he’s unable to move from crushing her and she continues to push him away yet begins to laugh. She eventually gives up trying to remove him from her shoulder.  
“You’re literally the worst brother.”, she complains with a blank face.

“If i’m such a horrible brother,”, he says slyly while pulling out two pieces of paper from his pocket. “Then why would I get you two tickets to the sold out Katy Perry concert?”

She jumps from the couch and screams excitedly grabbing the tickets from his hand asking if it’s a joke or not. The rest of the room has mostly gone silent of their conversations while watching the current scene. 

“100% legit, real tickets, Lottie.”

“Louis, oh my god thank you I love you so much right now.”

She springs onto him wrapping her arms around his back and squeezes incredibly tight. He laughs and hugs back but then pulls away.

“Oh so you only love me when I buy you concert tickets? I see how it is.”

She slaps his arm lightly, “Hush, Louis you know what I mean.”

The twins come running up to the couch where Louis is sitting in a slouchy manner.

“What did you get for me, Louis?”, Daisy asks excitedly. 

“Yeah and what about me?”, Phoebe echoes her sister.

“You’ll have to wait until after dinner, kiddos.”

“Aww man.”, they walk away defeated.

The oven beeps not long after, letting them know the food is ready. Jay hurries into the kitchen with Harry following behind to help set dinner up like always. Louis chats with Gemma and Anne about life in general until his mom calls everyone into the dining room. They take their seats around the table, Louis and Harry sit beside each other near the end of the table. 

The long table is covered in dishes of their traditional food. Ham and lasagna are the two biggest parts of Christmas dinner but they always have little side dishes such as yams, cranberry sauce, pigs in a blanket (Harry’s personal fave), croissants, and pretty much anything else someone decides to add in. Around the table, plates begin to fill and mouths talk between bites. The two boys glance and smile at each other from time to time, too busy having conversations with others to have a conversation of their own.

“So boys”, Anne starts as the room quiets down, “how was your trip?”

Louis and Harry share a look, knowing it’ll be a long story. Harry starts from the beginning and tells the bits of the story that seem like they might find funny. He makes sure to leave out parts like the reason why the fire started, the bathroom incident, the both of them admitting certain things to each other, and a few other details he didn’t find necessary telling them. It’s not like they’re trying to hide the two of them together from their family, it’s just not the right time. 

Back at the dinner table, everyone’s favorite part seems to be the fact that they managed to start a fire on the bed.

“You idiots!”, Fizzy says jokingly between laughs, “You two are probably the only people I know who can set a bed on fire from a cupcake.”

Everyone -including Louis and Harry- chuckles, knowing how true her statement is. When the laughter dies down, Anne also asks, “How’s college been this semester?”. Harry plays with his food while answering, “It’s been good.”. But then musters up the courage to tell them about his most recent decision. 

“Actually, there’s something I wanna tell you guys about.” He seems nervous while all eyes are on him, listening for his what he has to say. Louis notices and lays his hand on Harry’s thigh in which Harry covers it with his own and squeezes lightly. Louis squeezes back.

“I’ve decided that I’m gonna try out for The X Factor. You know that singing show-”

“ _Finally_!”

Harry turns to Gemma with a face full of relief.

“It’s about time you put that journal full of songs to use!”

He blushes and everyone else joins in with positive comments on his decision. The crowd seems delighted by this, not how Harry thought they’d react at all. After dinner when Harry and Anne are doing the dishes, she brings it up.

“Harry, i’m happy about your decision because I know it’s what you really wanna do, but what about school?”

“Mom, it’s fine i’ve got nothing to lose! And if I do get through then I guess we’ll just go through there, ya know.”

“Well I trust you in making smart decisions so just do what is best, please.”

“Yeah, mom of course.”

***************************************************************************  
Once everyone’s seated back in the living room, they open the presents. Happy faces with bright smiles are seen and ‘thank you’s are heard many times throughout the room. Louis is quite pleased with the amount of gas cards he’s gotten this year, considering he’s been running low on money.

The rest of the night is spent as it usually would be. They eat dessert which is made up of apple pie, pecan pie, cheesecake, and sugar cookies previously decorated by the girls. The sugar filled foods bring a wave of joy to everyone and so they sit down to watch “A Christmas Story” for the millionth time. Most of the time spent watching the movie, Louis falls in and out of sleep, half laying on Harry. 

By the time it’s over, everyone in the room has fallen asleep except for Harry, still too intrigued by the movie’s story. He reaches for the remote behind him and turns the TV off. He wakes Louis up enough so that he can get up from the couch and then guides the half asleep boy up the stairs to Louis’s bedroom. Harry opens the door to the room with one hand and pulls Louis in after him with his other. The room’s walls are still a dark blue and it seems like nothing’s changed since Louis left for college. They make their way over to the bed through the dark and climb in. They lay facing each other only able to see a few features of each other’s faces from the moon shining it’s light through the window.

“Louis?”

“Huh.”

“Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?”

Louis opens his eyes and looks at Harry, who’s been watching him.

“I got you, didn't I?

“You sure did.”

“Okay then yes. I got exactly what I wanted.”

Harry smiles and replies softly, “Good, cause so did I.”

Louis scoots closer to Harry and curls up against his chest.

“I love you, Lou.”

Harry kisses the top of Louis’s head. He smiles widely at Harry’s few words. Louis is completely, genuinely happy for once. Louis is so inevitably happy and all he can do is be grateful for having Harry here in his life.

“I love you too, Harry.” 

But Harry sighs like Louis doesn't get what he’s really trying to say.

“No, Louis I mean i’m _in love_ with you. I’m so incredibly, hopelessly in love with you and I don’t wanna fall out of it."

Louis rises his head and looks up at Harry who’s holding back tears because of how flustered he’s become. He only says two words.

“So don’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> and that's a wrap!
> 
> i hope everyone enjoyed this fic as much as i enjoyed writing it. especially the person i wrote it for!
> 
> this is officially my first fic that i've started AND completed so im pretty proud of it.
> 
> if you wanna make my day please kudos this or comment! i also wanna add that daxford and fort lawrence are both fictional cities that i made up for the fic. and the title is from the song babylon by angus and julia stone.
> 
> thank you SO much for even reading this if you did! you can find me on tumblr at [19yearsoldlou](http://19yearsoldlou.tumblr.com) and if you wanna talk to me about anything message me there! thanks i love you all!


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